A massive, gnarled, ancient oak tree; a cypress grove in the winter, devoid of foliage; coastal dunes with surfaces scalloped by wind, water and footprints.

By MARY CANNADAYLEDGER CORRESPONDENT

A massive, gnarled, ancient oak tree; a cypress grove in the winter, devoid of foliage; coastal dunes with surfaces scalloped by wind, water and footprints.Richard Sexton's photographs, on display at the Polk Museum of Art, are testament to the beauty of natural elements not usually celebrated.A photo taken in 2003, "Bird's Nest Incorporating Human Refuse," features an exquisite nest that dealt with human encroachment by incorporating a pop top, a plastic can carrier and yards of string into its construction.The environmental exhibit, called "Terra Incognita," will be on display through Sept. 13, and on Friday night, Sexton will be guest of honor at a museum reception, where he will share the story behind the exhibit. "I'll give an overview of the project: how it started, what my inspirations were for undertaking it. I'll discuss my technique a little bit," Sexton said."Terra Incognita," Latin for "Unknown Land," is on loan from New Orleans' Ogden Museum of Southern Art. It pays homage to the Gulf Coast area and attempts, through photography, to capture the fleeting nature of the environment. "The natural landscape is a constant repetition of loss and renewal, and I wanted to capture that process at important and meaningful moments," Sexton said. "I also worry about the wholesale destruction of the natural landscape, by real estate development, by hurricanes, by global warming, by a number of things. The beauty of nature and the natural world, in general, is not frozen in time, it constantly changes." Adam Justice, curator of art at Polk Museum of Art, said Sexton's photos are pieces of environmental history."Richard Sexton's photographs depict more than a landscape; these images document the evolving presence of one of the most fragile parts of the United States. With the modern inundation of industry and tourism, the Gulf Coast has undergone vast transformations in a relatively short amount of time. Sexton captures these changes through literal and abstract portraits of this beautiful shoreline."Sexton sees beauty in non-traditional artifacts, and through his skill and mastery of light, shadow and focus, helps viewers observe these settings in a new way. "Everyone recognizes the beauty of the beach and the ocean, but there is less appreciation for the wetlands and the scrub," Sexton said. "I wanted to show that all of it is beautiful, though much of that beauty is subtle and some of the landscape is what one might describe as inhospitable, so we don't treasure it as much as we should."And although some of the "Terra Incognita" photos drive home the effects of poor environmental stewardship, there is no strident finger-wagging at modernization. For example, "Newspapers in Swamp Water" shows about a dozen bundles of newspapers tossed into the water. "This setting is in the swamps on the outskirts of New Orleans," Sexton said. It is in an area that was expected to see development but never did. "So, this part of the swamp, which is quite close to Bayou Sauvage National Preserve, has been used to dump unwanted stuff. You may see all kinds of things in the swamp here, from old carpets to old refrigerators."Preservation is a theme that subtly runs through much of the artist's work.In other collections not part of the Polk Museum exhibit, Sexton has taken his camera to Italy and to the Caribbean sphere, comparing their Creole culture with that of New Orleans. In both of these collections, a common theme — effects of the passage of time — crop up, just as they do in "Terra Incognita." He depicts hillside homes in Tuscany, abandoned as the agricultural community modernizes. Peeling, but still beautiful walls of New Orleans and Caribbean homes. Sexton captures endangered eras.A Georgia native, Sexton now divides his time between his studio in New Orleans and a Florida beach home in Seaside. Many of the photos were taken during his travels between the two towns, he said. He also captured images while traveling between Seaside and Colquitt, Ga., visiting his mother and his hometown. Toward the late 1990s, his focus seemed to shift from the scrubs and wetlands to sand dunes and the waterfront. "I think I wanted to be more inclusive, to show all the elements of the coastal setting — the ocean, the beach, the dunes, the marsh, the coastal dune lakes, the scrub, the estuaries, the back swamps, the pine barrens. It was important to photograph all of it, to create a complete picture," Sexton said."I think everyone should be concerned about the environment. Environmental awareness is an important mission, particularly for artists."